Brett Ormerod column: It's the right time for Blackpool to break their Ipswich Town duck

There’s a lot more confidence among the group now and they’ve had half a season together, so this Saturday at Portman Road should be a different game entirely.

I was very impressed by Paul Lambert’s side when they won 4-1, but I was also impressed with Charlton Athletic.

They are two teams with big squads and I said at the time they could be there or thereabouts, but both have had bad blips in recent weeks. That just sums up the league a little bit.

Blackpool have never won at Portman Road, which is a bizarre statistic, but if they’re going to end that record, this weekend is as good a time as any.

It’s a fantastic ground to play at and I always enjoyed playing there. I think I scored there on my Southampton debut, so it holds great memories for me.

It’s a great football club with great history and tradition, but they aren’t in the best form at the minute so there’s no reason why Blackpool can’t go there and win.

It was an important win for Blackpool in midweek against Northampton Town.

It was disappointing that Saturday’s game against Burton Albion was called off after that fantastic win against Wigan Athletic last week, so it was important they picked up a victory.

To go and beat Northampton was a great result and they sounded very solid.

Against Wigan, it was a strange game in a way because it was fairly even until Blackpool got their first goal.

As soon as the second one went in, they just blew Wigan away.

There aren’t any easy games in this league, Tuesday night against Northampton proved that, but if you stand toe-to-toe with teams and keep going, then the quality should eventually come through.

It’s alright having games in hand, but you’ve got to win them. Blackpool are in a bit of good form right now and they’ve had some good performances of late.

There’s a long way to go. It’s remarkable that we’re in February and Blackpool have only played half their games, so there will be a lot of twists and turns to come.

There are a lot of teams in the mix, although some of them might not be playing the best football at this moment.

Any team can put a run together and climb into the play-off spots, so it should be an exciting finish to the season.

Ellis Simms has come in and made a good impact. He made a fantastic run as soon as he came on against Wigan last week and the keeper pulled off a really good save.

He’s a bit of everything. He’s a big lad, he can be a target man but he’s also got the pace to run in behind. He works hard as well and he is quick, which is exciting for Blackpool fans.

To get two goals on his league debut was a fantastic achievement for him.

I was doing the radio commentary for Accrington Stanley’s game on Tuesday night against Bristol Rovers, which they won 6-1.

It was a fantastic performance from John Coleman’s side, especially in the second half. I know Stanley were 4-1 up in the first half but Bristol Rovers had their chances and it could easily have been 4-3 or 4-4.

A lot of people keep writing Stanley off but they aren’t going away and are right in the mix.

They’ve got games in hand like Blackpool, so if they carry on doing what they’re doing, there’s no reason why they can’t compete come the end of the season.

Dion Charles bagged a hat-trick in midweek and he’s a player Blackpool fans will know about, albeit they might not have seen a great deal of him.

He looked really sharp and he’s struck up a really good strike partnership with Colby Bishop, who has come from non-league.

He’s in a great vein of form, but when I’ve seen him before he’s blown hot and cold.

When he’s hot, he’s been on fire. His workrate is top notch, he chases every ball and thoroughly deserved his three goals.

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